Method and device for determining the material moisture of a material

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for determining the material moisture of a material, comprising the following steps: referencing a material using a referencing device by determining the material moisture of a material sample of the material in accordance with the mass of the material sample; determining the dielectric material constant (DProbe) of the material sample in accordance with the material moisture; calibrating a first microwave sensor using the dielectric material constant of the material sample; measuring the dielectric material constant of the material online by means of the first microwave sensor; determining the material moisture of the material using the dielectric material constant previously measured online.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A method for determining the moistness of a pyrotechnic and/or explosive substance, comprising the following steps:
 referencing a pyrotechnic and/or explosive substance with a referencing device by determining the moistness of a sample of the pyrotechnic and/or explosive substance as a function of the mass of the sample; 
 determining the dielectric constant of the sample as a function of the moistness; 
 calibrating a first microwave sensor, on the basis of the dielectric constant of the sample; 
 measuring the dielectric constant of the pyrotechnic and/or explosive substance online by means of the first microwave sensor; and 
 determining the moistness of the pyrotechnic and/or explosive substance on the basis of the dielectric constant measured online previously. 
 
     
     
       2. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the method further comprises the following steps:
 measuring the dielectric constant of the pyrotechnic and/or explosive substance online by means of a second microwave sensor; and 
 redetermining the moistness of the pyrotechnic and/or explosive substance on the basis of the dielectric constant measured online previously. 
 
     
     
       3. The method of  claim 2 , wherein the method further comprises the following step:
 validating the moistness on the basis of the dielectric constant measured by the second microwave sensor. 
 
     
     
       4. The method of  claim 2 , wherein the method further comprises the following step:
 drying the pyrotechnic and/or explosive substance between the step of determining the moisture content of the pyrotechnic and/or explosive substance and the online measuring of the dielectric constant of the pyrotechnic and/or explosive substance by means of the second microwave sensor. 
 
     
     
       5. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the dielectric constants are permeability and/or permittivity. 
     
     
       6. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the step of referencing the pyrotechnic and/or explosive substance with a referencing device takes place offline. 
     
     
       7. A drying method comprising the method for determining the moistness of the pyrotechnic and/or explosive substance of  claim 1 , wherein a drying facility is controlled or regulated on the basis of the moistness determined for the pyrotechnic and/or explosive substance. 
     
     
       8. A device for determining the moistness of a material pyrotechnic and/or explosive substance, comprising
 a referencing device for referencing a pyrotechnic and/or explosive substance by determining the moistness of a sample of the pyrotechnic and/or explosive substance as a function of the mass of the sample; 
 a microwave measuring facility for determining the dielectric constant of the sample as a function of the moistness; and 
 a controlling and evaluating facility which is configured to calibrate a first microwave sensor on the basis of the dielectric constant of the sample, the first microwave sensor disposed online for measuring the dielectric constant of the pyrotechnic and/or explosive substance, 
 wherein the controlling and evaluating facility is further configured to determine the moistness of the pyrotechnic and/or explosive substance on the basis of the dielectric constant measured online previously. 
 
     
     
       9. The device of  claim 8 , wherein
 the device has a second microwave sensor disposed online for measuring the dielectric constant of the pyrotechnic and/or explosive substance, and 
 the controlling and evaluating facility is configured to determine the moistness of the pyrotechnic and/or explosive substance on the basis of the dielectric constant measured online previously. 
 
     
     
       10. The device of  claim 8 , wherein the controlling and evaluating facility is configured to validate the moistness. 
     
     
       11. The device of  claim 9 , further comprising a microwave drying device for drying the pyrotechnic and/or explosive substance, said microwave drying device being disposed online between the first microwave sensor and the second microwave sensor. 
     
     
       12. The device of  claim 8 , wherein the dielectric constants are permeability and/or permittivity. 
     
     
       13. The device of  claim 8 , wherein the referencing device for referencing the pyrotechnic and/or explosive substance is disposed offline. 
     
     
       14. A drying device for drying a pyrotechnic and/or explosive substance, wherein the drying device comprises the device for determining the moistness of the pyrotechnic and/or explosive substance of  claim 8 , wherein a drying facility is set up to be controlled or regulated on the basis of the moistness determined for the pyrotechnic and/or explosive substance.